Over one hundred thousand movies have been made with
roughly 10 different posters per movie. From these numbers, you
may be surprised to learn that few of these original posters have
survived. Nearly 80% of all vintage posters have been destroyed
by overuse, paper drives, natural disasters, etc.

To compound matters, these posters were limited prints to begin
with. In the Golden Age of American cinema, production studios
were judged by the success of their next picture, so movie posters
were issued directly to theaters to help drive ticket sales.

Current thought is that fewer than 300,000 of all vintage posters
have survived. Of those that survived, only of a fraction of them
are westerns. There are many posters from the 1930's where no
one has been able to find even 1 copy!

Grading

Because most of these posters were actually hung in the
theater at one time, their condition varies. The following grading
system has been used to describe condition. A condition rating is
only intended as a guideline; we encourage you to request a more
detailed grading report on any item of special interest. Unless
otherwise noted, all posters have been folded at one time or another
since they were mailed folded from the printer to the theater.

Poster
Condition Grading Scale

Near Mint (NM)

Near Mint (NM) means almost flawless. It is
virtually unused with only the slightest signs of wear.

Excellent (EX)

The Excellent (EX) poster has light use with
few signs of wear. It has either few or no cosmetic flaws.

Very Good
(VG)

The Very Good (VG) poster shows signs of moderate
use. A Very Good (VG) poster may demonstrate some of the
following cosmetics. Cosmetics include: some wear at major
fold intersections, tackholes, a small crease/tear, or a
light staining/tapping at the edges.

Good (G)

A Good (G) poster shows obvious signs of use.
Good (G) posters are generally presentable when framed.
Image area is not significantly damaged.

Fair (F)

Fair (F) posters show signs of heavy use and
may require possible image restoration. Expect some damage.